BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — With a 15% increase in prime realty sales, the luxury property market in Barbados is more bullish than ever, according to the latest Knight Frank Caribbean Prime Residential Insight report.
Barbados’ sales growth was the most promising in the Caribbean, ahead of the Virgin Islands, Mustique and St. Barts – which nonetheless all outperformed bigger markets.
According to Christian De Meillac, Knight Frank Senior Negotiator:
“2013 saw a marked turnaround in Barbados’s prime market as confidence levels amongst buyers picked up. Supply continues to outpace demand but the market is rebalancing”
Knight Frank credits the Barbados government’s recently-introduced Entry and Reside permit as contributing to stronger interest in the luxury market. The scheme allows indefinite special entry with a minimum $2m investment in Barbados property, so long as funds originate from outside of Barbados.
Foreign interest in Barbados remains focussed on the key locations of St Peter, St James and Christ Church, led by British, Canadian and US buyers.
With six years of subdued demand in the Caribbean since 2007, Barbados’ prime residential prices fell 2% year-on-year by the end of Q4 in 2013, with larger drops of between 4 and 6% in Cayman and the BVI. Average property prices in the Bahamas, Mustique, St. Barts and Jumby Bay rose marginally between 0-2% in 2013.
